


Days To Remember

by CuddlyStarfish



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:06:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29048127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuddlyStarfish/pseuds/CuddlyStarfish
Summary: Years after the Hundred Year War, Jin has settled into a happy life in Ba Sing Se, but she’s still confused about what happened to the firebending circus performer she went on a date with all those years ago. Her questions are finally answered when she runs into him at the Jasmine Dragon.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 31





	Days To Remember

There are a few days every young girl remembers as she grows older. The day her mother gave her a beautiful doll. The day she turned ten. The day her village was attacked and her house was burned down by Fire Nation soldiers. The day she entered Ba Sing Se. The day she realized she had a crush on the cute server at the teashop. The day she saw lost posters everywhere for an extinct animal. The day she had her first kiss.  
Oh, her first kiss. Jin would always remember that date.  
When her children asked about her childhood romances, she would tell them that there were the things Lee claimed and the things Jin knew.  
Lee claimed that he was a part of a traveling circus. Lee claimed he could juggle. Lee claimed he and his uncle were who they said they were. Lee claimed his name was Lee.  
Jin knew that Lee could not juggle. She doubted he ever had been able to. Jin knew that his uncle had pressured him into going on the date. Jin knew that Lee’s uncle had spent ten minutes doing his hair, only for it to look absolutely ridiculous until she messed it up. Jin knew that Lee was a fire-bender. Jin knew that Lee was awkward but kind. Jin knew that he hadn’t felt the same, though she had hoped that would change after their date. Jin knew that Lee had moved to the upper ring.  
And her children would make faces and she would kiss their foreheads and tuck them into bed. Then she would slip out of the room and collapse into her husband’s arms as he kissed her cheek.  
Jin had long since gotten over her crush on Lee. She had fallen in love with a nice man, another refugee. They had gotten married and had three children.  
But some part of her mind was always stuck on Lee. Not because she was romantically interested in him anymore, but because so much about him didn’t add up. He couldn’t juggle. He was a fire-bender. He had a large scar over his eye, a burn mark.  
She told herself that he had lied to her because he knew that many of the refugees were hostile towards anyone from the Fire Nation, but that didn’t make sense either.   
Why had he left the Fire Nation? Was he disgraced? Had he been involved in the fall of Ba Sing Se? Had he been a spy? Why would he risk lighting the lamps for her if he had ill intentions towards the refugees? Had he just wanted to see her smile? Had he liked her? Where had he gotten that scar?  
She never thought she would get the answers to her questions.  
Then, one day, a parade wove through the city. She and her children watched as the Fire Lord’s float passed, her husband’s hand on her shoulder.  
“I wonder if Lee is seeing this,” she whispered in his ear, “I wonder if he’s seeing the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, finally at peace.”  
“Maybe he was able to go home after the war ended. Maybe he’s not in Ba Sing Se anymore,” he whispered back between cheers.  
“Maybe,” she agreed. And she put the thought of Lee out of her mind.  
After the parade passed, she went about her day as normal. She hung up the washing and watched her children play with a ball in the streets. She took the oldest to school while her husband got the younger two ready for naptime. On her way home, she stopped by the tea shop. It was in the tea shop that she heard the news.  
“You know the Jasmine Dragon, in the upper ring? The original owner and his nephew are back in town,” one of the men was saying to his companion, “Remember how he used to work here? Best tea in Ba Sing Se, they said. Hey, you remember Mushi, don’t you? He and his nephew. Great man. Such a kind boy, too. Mushi must be ancient by now. Doubt they’d remember us now though. Heard a rumor they served tea for the Fire Lord! Our boys are famous! We’ll have to welcome them home!”  
“He’s here?” She burst into the conversation, “Lee is here?”  
“Yeah, at the Jasmine Dragon.”  
She smiled, put down her teacup, and quickly rushed home. She told her husband where she was going, which made him laugh—“Lee? You thinking of running off with him?” he said, to which she pecked him on the cheek and promised that she would do no such thing.  
When she reached the Jasmine Dragon, she was not expecting Lee to actually be there. She was also not expecting - after pushing her way through the crowd - to find him wearing the robes of the Fire Lord.  
“Look, Zuko,” said an old man that she barely recognized, “It’s that girl!”  
Lee looked towards the man, then followed his gaze to Jin. He smiled, as awkward as she remembered.  
“Lee?”  
“June, right?”  
“Jin,” she corrected, “It’s been forever! How is everything? How is your uncle?”  
“Great, great. Uncle Iroh’s over there - though you know him as Mushi, don’t you? And, uh, I became the Fire Lord, so… that’s great, I guess. How is everything with you?”  
“Great,” she said. Maybe some of his awkwardness was rubbing off on her. “You’re… you’re actually the Fire Lord? How? I knew you weren’t a juggler! And I knew Lee wasn’t your real name!”  
By this point, everyone in the tea shop had gone quiet to listen to them.  
“Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. It’s just, you know, it was during the war, and fire-bending was kind of… well, yeah. My name’s Zuko. Wait, you remembered that stupid lie?”  
Jin blushed bright red. “Of course. I mean, of course, I remembered the boy I had my first kiss with. And I knew you were a fire-bender! Those lamps can’t just light themselves!”  
“You knew? And you didn’t tell anyone?” Lee - no, Zuko, Fire Lord Zuko - raised an eyebrow.  
“Of course not,” Jin laughed, holding her head high. “I’m not a snitch.”


End file.
